United Liberty

In case you didn’t catch it, the folks at Saturday Night Live lampooned the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination over the weekend (not the first time they’ve done it). Hilarity ensued.

The skit was pokes fun at the seemingly endless stream of debates that the candidates have gone through over the last few months (there is another one tonight!), including the recent Bloomberg debate. In this faux debate, Republican candidates are seated based on their likelihood of winning the GOP nomination. Mitt Romney and Herman Cain are seated in the studio along with Rick Perry, who is cast off to the side. Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich are locked in a janitor’s closet. Ron Paul was left in the parking deck of the studio. And Rick Santorum was left at a gay bar in San Francisco.

Santorum, whose only real constituency in the race is social conservatives, was apparently not very happy with the sketch:

Although Santorum, played by Andy Samberg, had only a limited roll in the sketch, he was portrayed as upset and uncomfortable.

New Hampshire radio station WGIR asked Santorum on Sunday about the sketch — the former Pennsylvania senator said that while he hadn’t yet seen it, he had been “hammered” for his support of conservative principles.

“We’ve been hammered by the left for my standing up for the traditional family and I will continue to do so,” Santorum said. “The left, unfortunately, participates in bullying more than the right does. They say that they’re tolerant, and they’re anything but tolerant of people who disagree with them and support traditional values.”

I’ve got no sympathy for Santorum. He is obviously entitled to his beliefs and opinions. That’s not in dispute, and it’s absurd for Santorum to say otherwise. This isn’t bullying. It’s damn fine comedy.